Printing-form for printing advertisements.



J. S: DITTMAR.

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Patented Apr. 12,1910.

UNITED STATES PATN FFEQ'.

JULIUS S. DITTIVIAR, OF SIOUX CITY, IOWA, ASSIGNOE 6F SEVEN TW'ELFTHS AUGUSTA L. DITTMAR,

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TO BE SIOUX CITY, IOVI'A.

PRINTING-FORM FOR- PRINTING ADVERTISEMENTS.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JULIUS S. DITTBIAR, a citizen of the United States of America, residing in Sioux City, in the county of food bury and State of Iowa, have invented new and useful improvements in printing-forms for printing advertisements using sections built up on the basis of a standard unit of area and proportions in multiples or even fractions thereof.

I know that newspaper and advertising space has been set in the form of columns of varying measurements but my invention has peculiar reference to advertisements which are issued in the form of circulars, and especially where such advertisements are issued from a common source for a number of advertisers under a syndicate arrangement.

The difficulty in the pastwith syndicated advertising has been in its rigidity and unchangeability. If a retail merchant was using such advertising he was obliged to buy stock tofit the advertising, unless the entire advertisement were reset for his stock and that involved comparatively heavy expense, and as a consequence syndicated advertising while extremely desirable on the score of low cost, has been of little service because it could not be made to fit a retailers stock readily unless the writer thereof had the particular store in mind.

The purpose of my invention is to make syndicate advertising adaptable to any store by making the ad. sections in separate stereotype or electrotype blocks of such proportions that the sections are readily interchangeable and the objectionable rigidity is removed while all the economies of syndicated advertising are retained.

Under the prevailing system of writing syndicated advertisement the entire thing is a unit and is printed as such. As a general thing no change is practicable unless fresh type is set to fit the space left by the removal of any advertisement section.

My invention is shown in the accompanying drawing in which Figure 1 is a printing form made up of the printing surfaces herein described. Fig. 2 is a printing form made up of sectional printing surfaces in a difi'erent arrangement. Fig. 3 and Fig. 4 show difierent arrangements of the fractional printing surfaces.

Fig. 1 shows a printing form made up of Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed April 2, 1908.

Batented Apr. 1.2, 1910.

Serial No. 424,843.

my sectional block surfaces, A representing the chase, while B, C, and D represent the component blocks ready for locking up. Block D represents a standard unit. Block C is twice its width and of the same height, having just double the area. lock B is twice the height and twice the width of the standard unit D and has four times the area. The drawing shows a form made up of one four unit block B, two two unit blocks C, and eight single or standard units. In each block the height is either equal to. or a multiple of, the height of the standard unit D and in each case the width of each block is either equal to, or a multiple of the standard units (D) width. These blocks can be rearranged in any form, as for instance, in Fig. 2. Any block of the standard size may be used to replace any one unit block, two single blocks may be used to replace any two unit section and four single blocks or two two unit blocks may be used to replace any four unit block. In any given space, as for instance, a sixteen unit circular size, (4x4) the merchant may order any combination of advertising sec tions as long as he restricts the total area to sixteen units.

Fig. 3 represents a standard unit divided fractionally, sections E, E, being in length and breadth respectively even fractions of the standard unit. Fig. 4: shows another fractional division, section F being in columnwise length an even fraction of the columnwise length of the standard unit while in breadth it is equal to the breadth of the standard unit, while E, E, are fractional in both dimensions.

In practice a very large number of these advertising sections of the various sizes are catalogued and numbered serially. In ordering advertising made up it is only necessary to select blocks having a total area equal to that of the circular and they can be quickly assembled in any desired order without any justifying. Ordinarily the blocks are made a column wide and two and two thirds inches high for the standard size, but the dimensions of the standard block can be varied the only requirement being that in any system of these blocks, the standard of height and width be kept the same throughout.

My invention requires that each section of an advertisement be set up of such dimeusions that. in length and breadth it is either exact multiple or an even fraction of a standard unit of space, which maintains constant dimensions throughout a given series of syndicate advertisements. The result is that the advertiser having proofs of these ad sections before him can designate any of them to appear in any given space, keeping Within the total number of units of space which he has to fill. Because they are interchangeable these sections can be assembled in any order desired and the same effect is produced as though the advertisement were prepared for the individual advertiser.

Preferably each section of the advertise ment is stereotyped or electrotyped separately, either type high or to be mounted on a suitable base, Then assuming that the advertiser has before him the proofs of a large number of these blocks of say one, two three and four unit sizes he can quickly select the number required for any given circular and they can be assembled by the printer in very short time. These blocks in the advertisement being either multiples or fractions of standard units, the full number of units can be assembled in the printing form in the order desired and advertising be arranged to fit any given stock at lOW cost. If in a sample circular submitted to such advertiser there is an article not in stock he can designate some other section of the same area representing something in. stock to take its place.

The advantage of preparing advertisementsections on the basis of standard units is to save expense and to obviate rigidity as hereinbefore explained and the advertiser is given a considerable range of selection as to the articles to be featured in his advertising, the range varying according to the number of units set up in excess of the circulars capacity.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States of America is:

A printing form for printing advertisements composed of interchangeable sectional printing surfaces certain of said surfaces having columnwise lengths and breadths respectively equal to the length and breadth of a standard sectional printing surface while other surfaces are in length and breadth respectively multiples or fractions of the len th and breadth of said standard D s a sectional printing surface.

J. S. DITTMAR.

Witnesses G. Boon, G. T. Rnnsn. 

